Immediately after the birth of the baby, the connecting thread between the baby and mother is interrupted by cutting. The resulting wound is the most vulnerable spot on the body of the crumbs. Most parents are afraid to even touch the so-called clothespin, which squeezes the open end of the navel. It is necessary to treat such a wound with caution, without needing to disturb it, but how then to monitor the baby’s hygiene? How to handle a newborn's navel with a clothespin? It is simply impossible to do without this procedure. Parents are required to prepare for the appearance of the child and know everything about this issue so as not to harm their baby.
What is the umbilical remainder?
Being in the womb, the child is inextricably linked with his mother thanks to the umbilical cord, inside which there are large blood vessels. After the baby is born, the umbilical cord is pinched with a special clothespin a couple of centimeters from the umbilical ring and cut it. Thanks to this, the child has a small piece of the umbilical cord.
Parents often ask the question: "How long does the navel heal?" It is impossible to give a definite answer, because the body of each of the children is individual and the healing process too. After about 4-14 days, the umbilical residue dries and disappears by itself, without causing pain in the baby.
Why handle the navel?
Before the remainder of the umbilical cord falls away, he oozes and bleeds for a while. During this period, you need to treat the navel daily, otherwise an infection can get into the body of the crumbs. If the baby's belly button is red, then most likely the infection has already occurred. In this case, you need to urgently contact the hospital or hospital for medical care, since inflammation can trigger the development of sepsis.
Sometimes doctors decide to remove the remainder of the umbilical cord on their own. To do this, on the second day after the birth of the baby, the remainder is cut off with a scalpel or special scissors, and a sterile dressing is applied in its place. After a day, the bandage is removed and the wound is provided with appropriate care.
How to care for the umbilical cord?
In the first hours after birth, a nurse takes care of the navel of the baby, she must teach the young mother to independently carry out this procedure. In the maternity hospital, they are obliged to warn the woman in labor that it is strictly forbidden to twist the clothespin, trying to tear it off together with the appendix. Although there are no nerve endings in the umbilical cord, however, there are blood vessels in it, so the natural process of drying out the process cannot be disturbed, otherwise bleeding may open.
How to handle a navel with a clothespin in a newborn?
To begin with, wash your hands with soap and process the umbilical ring itself with an antiseptic. The clothespin can and must be lifted to handle the umbilical residue from all sides. The past generation does not know how to process the navel, this is due to the fact that until the natural drying out and the umbilical residue fell away, the mothers were not discharged from the hospital. At present, women in childbirth are often discharged on the third day after the baby is born, and further care for the navel is assigned to them.
How to care for the umbilical wound?
After the umbilical cord falls away, a wound is formed, and then the most critical stage begins to care for the baby's navel. There are no special rules on how to care for the umbilical wound after the clothespin falls off, the main thing is regular treatment with sterile means and materials. The process itself occurs using the following steps:
- Treatment of the umbilical wound with hydrogen peroxide. You can use cotton buds, but it is better to use a pipette to drop a couple of drops of the solution onto the wound. A normal reaction is the formation of foam, this should happen during each procedure, until the wound heals.
- Crusts form inside the umbilical wound, which should soak from the peroxide and separate easily from the skin. After that, using cotton buds, you need to carefully clean the navel. Remember that forcibly breaking off dried crusts is prohibited, otherwise bleeding may open.
- Next, you need to dry the wound with a sterile napkin or cotton pad so that there is no moisture in the navel.
- Finish the procedure by treating the umbilical ring with an antiseptic. It is important to push the edges of the navel so that all the inner walls of the wound are treated equally well.
The older generation can be misleading to young parents, because earlier, for processing the navel, they used greenback, iodine or a solution of potassium permanganate. Now, such funds are not used because of their coloring properties. After all, if the child has a red navel or inflammation has begun, then the saturated color of green or iodine will not allow you to see anything.
Inflamed navel
The most serious and dangerous cause of a red navel in a child is omphalitis, that is, inflammation of the umbilical wound, ring and all surrounding tissues. How to determine the presence of this process? With omphalitis, a child may notice a red spot around the navel, swelling and fever. If inflammation is not noticed in time, then after a couple of days you can detect purulent discharge from the umbilical wound.
This bacterial disease gives the child discomfort, affects his state of health and general well-being. The baby can become restless, moody, lethargic, he will also have a bad dream, and he will cease to gain weight. But the main danger of the disease lies in the entry of bacteria into the blood, which will lead to the spread of infection. Omphalitis progresses in the first days after the birth of the baby, but a red navel in a child may appear after some time.
When the baby grows up a bit and begins to enthusiastically examine his body, feeling his hands, there is a chance that he will get to the navel. Picks can cause a red navel in an older child (6-10 months). Therefore, it is important to observe the behavior of the baby. Constant wearing clothes will not allow the child to play with the navel.
Allergic reaction
Another cause of a red navel in a child may be an allergic reaction. Redness may indicate that the product introduced into the diet of the baby or mother (if the baby is breast milk) is not suitable for the crumb and should be excluded for some time. Also, a similar reaction can cause laundry detergent, baby cosmetics or new diapers. Any mechanical irritation, rubbing, diaper rash, close contact with synthetic or chemical substances can cause redness and swelling in the abdomen. After severe straining, intensive rubbing of the navel or anguish of the child, it may be found that the navel is red, because the skin in this place is very delicate.
How to eliminate redness?
With severe redness, you need to be examined by a dermatologist, you can also seek advice from your local pediatrician. How to prevent inflammation? You just need to follow these rules:
- Be sure to wipe the navel dry after any contact with moisture, preventing the accumulation of fluid.
- In the first weeks of the baby's life, you can’t tightly cover the umbilical wound with a band-aid or a diaper - it should dry.
- It is necessary to arrange crumbs of air baths as often as possible so that the wound dries as quickly as possible.
- Trim your baby’s nails regularly to prevent germs from collecting underneath.
- Baby's underwear should be made from natural fabrics.
- Do not wash children's clothes with synthetic detergent.
- At the first signs of wound souring, treat it with peroxide and wipe it dry with a sterile swab.
- Use caution with foods that trigger an allergic reaction.
These recommendations will help get rid of redness of the skin near the navel, but do not neglect medical help, sometimes you just can not do without qualified intervention.